Banff’s places to visit, starting with Bow Falls
Of the 14 places to visit in and around Banff, 8 are museums or galleries. There are 8 places to visit inside Banff’s municipal boundary, and 6 more within 5 km of its edge. The list includes 2 places cared for by Parks Canada. Walking distance covers 7 of the places on the list, all within 1 km of the middle. A day out reaches Banff Sunshine, 19 km away.
The best known in Banff
WaterfallBow Fallsin town
MuseumBanff Park Museumin town
MuseumWhyte Museumin town
MuseumBuffalo Nations Luxton Museumin town
Art galleryWalter Phillips Galleryin townArt galleryArt galleryBrandon T. Brown Wilderness Galleryin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Plotted on the map
The farthest of them, Mt Norquay, is 3.7 km out.
The dashed line is Banff’s municipal boundary; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Statistics Canada 2021 outline
The mix
Green: inside Banff. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
Looked after by Parks Canada: Cave and Basin and Banff Upper Hot Springs.
Full list of places
Banff Park Museum
Natural history museum in Banff, Canada.
9Cave and Basin
Historic site in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.
10
11
12The 8 inside Banff come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Provincial and city parks are on the Outdoors page instead.
Historic places in Banff → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Banff →
Big names nearby
Ski hillBanff Sunshine19 km west
Ski hillNakiska39 km southeastPlaces well known beyond Banff (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Parks Canada property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Know before you go to Banff
What are the main attractions in Banff?
The names to know inside Banff’s municipal boundary: Banff Park Museum, Whyte Museum and Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum.
Does Banff have a museum?
In or within 5 km of Banff: Walter Phillips Gallery, Brandon T. Brown Wilderness Gallery and Carter-Ryan Gallery and Live Art Venue.
Is there a Parks Canada property near Banff?
Yes, Parks Canada: the By kind chart above says which places, all within 5 km of Banff.
What are the best-known days out near Banff?
Within 40 km: Nakiska (39 km).
How is this list made?
We merge OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Statistics Canada’s ODCAF and the heritage registers into one list of museums, galleries, historic sites, forts, lighthouses, gardens, parks, waterfalls, ski hills, zoos and theme parks. To count, a historic building must show it takes visitors (hours, a fee, a website, a heritage operator or a Wikipedia article); hotels, restaurants and tours are dropped. Places inside the town’s 2021 outline come first, then those up to 5 km beyond it.
Places to visit: Canada publishes no open tourism list, so this one is assembled from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), Wikidata (CC0), Statistics Canada’s ODCAF museums and galleries (2020, Open Government Licence – Canada), the federal and Québec heritage registers and CPCAD’s national parks, and it reflects what mappers and editors have recorded. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches count only with a sign that visitors are welcome. Places sit in each town’s 2021 census outline; visitor counts are Wikidata’s latest, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (11)
- Bow Falls: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Banff Park Museum: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Whyte Museum: Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum: Silver Dovelet, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Phillips Gallery: Craig Talbert, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cave and Basin: Sovernigo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Banff Upper Hot Springs: Glenlarson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mt Norquay: Qyd, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station: Chris Short, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Banff Sunshine: Axel Pettersson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nakiska: Qyd, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).